An integrated platform for blended learning in engineering education

© 2017 by SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved. Educational system under development of technique and emergence of new technologies faces a problem of specialists' competence, who should design, produce, maintain new technique and use advanced technologies. The analysis of applied forms of education shows that blended learning has advantages over traditional learning and e-learning. For its successful implementation the unified informational educational platform that allows developing educational content, managing the learning process and giving the opportunity of virtual communication is required. The introduction of such advanced educational technologies like a virtual and augmented reality, simulation and gamification will enhance quality of specialists' training. The use of real-world experience of leading enterprises of an automobile industry, as well as the student's evaluation system based on the objective parameters are the main advantages of a proposed concept. At this stage, the development of the module of monitoring the learning process is proceeding

Blended-Learning: the Responses From Non-English Students in the Indonesian Tertiary Context

The process of language teaching and learning has undergone major changes due to the developments of technology. The use of technology in education field has paved the way for higher education institution to innovatively shape their modern media in a language teaching and learning. Subsequently, the implementation of blended-learning has aroused at the Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia for approximately one and a half year ago to maximize the use of technology. Most lecturers in all study programs have increasingly utilized the social network sites such as Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc. for the successfulness of blended-learning. This present study aims at exploring the students' responses on how blended-learning might be used to develop their language learning and discovering their attitudes towards the implementation of blended-learning as an interactional teaching and learning tool in English for Business course. Employing a qualitative in form of a case study, eighty-two undergraduate students from study program of Informatics Engineering were observed, interviewed, and distributed questionnaires. The data were performed to collect the students' responses and students' attitudes toward the implementation of blended-learning in the process of their language learning. The findings were found out that most students from Informatics Engineering major showed their positive responses and positive attitudes using blended learning for the language teaching and learning. They also gained some educational benefits for their English language development. Thus, this blended learning brings us to the new trend for language teaching and learning media in order to motivate the students in enhancing their language acquisition

Smart education for smart textiles

The aim of this paper is to present the main objectives and achievements of the Skills4Smartex project, according to its declared goals. The Erasmus+ project "Smart textiles for STEM training" is funded with support from the European Commission and it is a Strategic partnership - KA2 / Vocational Education and Training (VET), in the field of transfer of innovation from research providers towards textile enterprises & VET schools. The students within technical education acquire basic disciplines, such as mathematics, physics, technical drawing, chemistry, biology, mechanics, but the horizon of the end applications and usefulness of such basic disciplines is often not touchable. In correlation with these facts, the Skills4Smartex project is centred on improving knowledge, skills and employability of VET students in the STEM related fields, by providing the adequate training instruments to understand multidisciplinary working

Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences

Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OER’s value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education. This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open University’s (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience

Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open University’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform.

With the rise in access to mobile multimedia devices, educational institutions have exploited the iTunes U platform as an additional channel to provide free educational resources with the aim of profile-raising and breaking down barriers to education. For those prepared to invest in content preparation, it is possible to produce interactive, portable material that can be made available globally. Commentators have questioned both the financial implications for platform-specific content production, and the availability of devices for learners to access it (Osborne, 2012). The Open University (OU) makes its free educational resources available on iTunes U and via its web-based open educational resources (OER) platform, OpenLearn. The OU’s OER on iTunes U reached the 60 million download mark in 2013; its OpenLearn platform boasts 27 million unique visitors since 2006. This paper reports the results of a large-scale study of users of the OU’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform. A survey of several thousand users revealed key differences in demographics between those accessing OER via the web and via iTunes U. In addition, the data allowed comparison between three groups: formal learners, informal learners and educators. The study raises questions about whether university-provided OER meet the needs of users and makes recommendations for how content can be modified to suit their needs. As the publishing of OER becomes core to business, we reflect on reasons why understanding users’ motivations and demographics is vital, allowing for needs-led resource provision and content that is adapted to best achieve learner satisfaction, and to deliver institutions’ social mission

The importance of target audiences in the design of training actions

This paper describes the process of definition, conceptualization and implementation of a business course addressed for logistic and industrial managers. This course was designed using a blended methodology, with training in classroom, visits to enterprises and self- study, supported by an eLearning platform. The aim of this work is to create an opportunity to reflect about the decisions and strategies implemented and point future developments

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context